More User Reviews:

A - Pours with a one and a half finger head of light brown foam that sits on top of an opaque, black body with a hint of amber showing through around the edges when held up to the light. The foam settles fairly quickly and leaves decent lace.

S - Deep, dark caramel aroma with notes of molasses, smoke, and resinous hops. Pine and light citrus notes are darkened by the malt to put off some more mustardy, blue-veined cheese notes.

T - Thick, syrupy malt up front with huge sweetness and lots of molasses. Some cola notes in the middle that are washed away by sweet caramel and an increasing roasted flavor. Finishes with more molasses, some smoked malt, and moderate pine and blue cheese hop flavor. The enormous sweetness is balanced by intense, resinous bitterness with a bit of asprin-like astringency. Lingering complex, brown sugar flavors as well as a smoke and some carbon.

M - Thick, syrupy body, low carbonation, and a sweet finish.

D - This is a huge beer. The malt is thick, sweet and complex and while the hops are also over the top, they don't really manage to balance things out. The low carbonation really increases the perception of the heavy, sweet malt and I think the beer would be quite a bit more drinkable if it had an average level of carbonation. Still, the malt character is powerful and very interesting with a combination of moderately dark caramel and intense, woody molasses. The alcohol is very readily apparent, with a spicy, not quite hot character that would take a good bit of aging to remove. Overall, it is a sipping beer that is worth trying, but I don't think I will be seeking it out again. (1,634 characters)

The beer pours a murky dark brown color with a white head. Not real attractive. The aroma is rye, smoke and caramel. The flavor is rye, meaty BBQ smoke and caramel sweetness. Low carbonation and a very thick mouthfeel. (259 characters)

Purchased in 2011 I believe so probably about 2 years old at time of consumption.

Appearance is very dark for a barleywine but still brown. Despite it's dark color it has a very nice clarity.

Smell is pleasant if unremarkable. Lots of sweet caramel notes up front with a touch of alcohol. A little bit of dark fruit. Although the bottle says "smoked barleywine" and that is why I bought it, I am not detecting any smoke, perhaps because of the age?

Taste is similar to the aroma. Overall it is very nice. It leans towards the sweeter side with a fair but not overwhelming amount of complexity and balance.

The mouthfeel is very full and is not hot for 11%. Slightly viscous. Not too thick that I had any trouble finishing the 500ml bottle.

Overall this is a solid beer, especially if you like a touch of sweetness in your barleywine. I probably won't seek it out again but I enjoyed this bottle. (900 characters)

500ml bottle. Hey, the 'sun turned' not that long ago around here too, and its effect is, as usual, becoming slowly more noticeable. I do like the creepy Inuit with the old-school futuristic shades depicted on the label.

This beer pours a murky, dark reddish brown colour, with one finger of dense, tight foamy beige head, which leaves a solid, uninterrupted mesa profile of lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of acrid smoked malt, fruity and medicinal at the same time, which is a bit of an assault to the ol' olfactory senses, lemme tell ya - not much else could be perceptible beyond that. The taste is more of the same meaty smoke character, unfortunately, though thankfully blended into a heavy caramel/toffee malt, with some burnt (of course) field berries and singed (yes) bitter leafy hops grinning and bearing it all for our mutual displeasure.

The bubbles are probably as scared as I am, and do their best to show it by staying low and out of the way, the body rendering the first good news in terms of a decently hefty medium weight, and an inexplicably discordant overall smoothness. It finishes on the sweet side, the struggling malt having its day in the face of the medicinal, band-aid-esque smokiness. All else is seemingly lost in the fray.

Jebus H. Christ! I was initially distracted by the folksy solstice info, so I didn't actually read the ingredients before jumping into this. Turns out there's nothing there that would indicate the palate-fuck one should expect here - does one have to indicate smoking the shit out of any of your malt-based inputs? Anyway, take a possibly agreeable big barleywine, toss in on the BBQ, and see what transpires, I guess. It does settle down about halfway through (yeah, I persevered), but maybe that's just the heretofore ignored 22-proof booze. (1,825 characters)

500 ml picked up in Detroit in the winter. Smoked malts, dry and middling mouthfeel. Really nice after fish, surprisingly not that great with meat. Dark brown colour, moderate amount of off-white head. Good smoke aromas. Drinkable, but not that complex. (253 characters)

Cheers to Jimmy for providing me a bottle as a birthday gift last month. Poured from the 500ml bottle into a Duvel tulip. Body is a cloudy, almost muddy dark brown color with some garnet highlights when held up to the light. Next to no head, and a very still body to boot. Aroma is full of sweet, fruity malt with a touch of roasted character, along with a good hit of smoke (alder, maybe?). The hop profile is also fruity, and is accompanied by notes of plum and faint toffee, along with a serious hit of booze. Palate is sweet up front, with notes of dark fruit and sweet dark malt. Fruity hops with a faint touch of citrus come through mid-palate, building in bitterness towards the finish. A rich, warming finish s quite pleasant and welcome. Body is rich and full, the stillness not really detracting one bit from the huge, assertive character of this beer. While the heat and booze are a bit much to take at times, the flavors are well-balanced and unique. A tasty, special offering. (992 characters)

Dark cloudy brown body and a nice fluffy tan head. Bottle had no dates, but I think it's 6mo old-ish (I bought it about 3 months ago). Laces a treat.

Smells big-- smokey, but the sort of tangy, barbecue kind of smoke. Not like rich and oaky. If that makes sense.

Dang. This is pretty nice. Tastes like barbecued plums spiced with some bittering hops. I can get the rye in there as well (reminds me in that way of New Holland Charkoota Rye) which is a fantastic bold complement to support the smokiness, and wheat to give it body; otherwise it would be too tangy/thin/oily. This worked really well. Great proof that 'barleywine' means whatever you want it to mean.

Rich, thick, and luscious. Strong point of this beer.

If I'd known this was to be an American Barleywine, I might've passed. Not that the style description is inaccurate, though the beer defies pigeonholing. Darn well-crafted. (894 characters)

Huge ecru head floats on top of a very deep amber color. The nose is full of smoked malt. Even the first sip indicates the overwhelming flavors and complexity. Smoky, but not as much as a Rauchbier, there is vanilla, oak, cherries, rye, and lots of caramel malt. There is not much attempt the hide the whopping 11% ABV.

Complex and eminently unique, it’s one to seek out and experience. Though, not for the week palated. It’s an assault. (442 characters)

Sunturnbrew pours a very dark, cherry stained brown color. A little light cuts through and reveals attractive scarlet highlights. It's capped by a light tan head that stretches nearly two fingers tall. It recedes quickly. I suspect the abv killed it. A very nice web of stickly lace clung to the glass.

The nose smells just a tad weak, but is good overall. It's very heavy on dark fruit. Raisin, plum, and figs are prominent throughout. I like dark fruit Barleywines, so that's a plus as far as I'm concerned. Sweet, caramel malt is obviously the base. No complaints here. There's no short ofany sweetness here. I'm not getting much in terms of hops. I question the American Barleywine classification as a result. Nonetheless, it's a nice smelling beer. Just needs more strength.

The flavor actually mirrors the nose. Sunturnbrew has a very sweet, caramel malt base. It's definitely sugary. Dark fruit flavors of fig, raisin, and plum are prominent throughout. They work very well with the malty base, and add a ton of flavor. It's slightly herbal. I'm getting a little of a tobacco-like flavor. Hops really aren't apparent here. I think it'd be a little better with a generous infusion of hops, but it's damn tasty as it is. Alcohol is blended extremely well and doesn't come through much in flavor. It finishes with a tangy, dark fruit flavor.

Sunturnbrew has a medium body that's nice and smooth. Carbonation has been dialed down nicely. As it warms a little, it feels thicker and a little chewy. Drinkability is good. This is a big beer and as the ounces go by, that becomes more and more apparent. Nonetheless, I'm enjoying it.

Nøgne Ø did a nice job with Sunturnbrew. I'm not sure I'd call it an American Barleywine. It just doesn't strike me as one. Perhaps it's the lack of hops. I think it'd benefit from a strong, American hop presence. But, it's a solid Barleywine (of whatever nature), in any event. Good stuff. Definitely worth checking out. (1,961 characters)

500 mL bottle poured into a CBS snifter. My last Nøgne Ø barleywine was infected, but this one looks significantly safer.

Smell - Smoke dominates and perhaps overpowers a lot of other aromas. The malt is faint, but present, as a touch of caramel. Definitely has a band-aid aroma, but it isn't that intrusive.

Taste - Hops are much more prevalent in the taste than the smell. Smoke and hops at the start of the flavor, giving way to a more complex malt bill. Caramel, a touch of fruit to the taste, and just a hint of rye. The finish is slightly bitter and has that unpleasant band-aid flavor again.

Mouthfeel - Thick and mouth-coating. Nice weight. Medium carbonation. The problem is the astringency and band-aid flavor in the finish. It makes the lingering taste unpleasant.

Overall - A nice, smokey barleywine with an off-flavor that can't be ignored. Just the right amount of smoke, too, which is rare in a beer. Stupid band-aids. (939 characters)

Poured from the bottle into my Bruery tulip. Really have no idea what to expect from this beer.

The pour is a clear, deep, dark brown, with perhaps some faint ruby highlights. An initial tan-colored head emerges but dissipates to a thin collar almost immediately. Tiniest bit of spotty lacing.

Aroma. Hmm. It's okay. Not bad. Boozy, the 11% makes itself known. Smells of sweet malt, caramel, and I think I detect the rye in there too.

Taste is quite good. Sweet caramel and toffee, followed by a slight bitter bite at the end. The alcohol is very well hidden, surprisingly. The only way I know it's strong is because it's so warming on the way down. Long, lasting finish. I get a hint of spicy cinnamon towards the back half of the bottle. Sticky. Nice.

Mouthfeel is okay. It could be improved with a tad more carbonation, or perhaps to be a bit thicker. As it is, it seems like it is not optimal.

Drinkability is just okay. It's a bit sweet to drink a lot of this stuff, and the emergent spiciness is nice, but only in smaller quantities. I enjoyed this bottle, but I don't think that I would reach for another one for a while. (1,135 characters)

A - pitch black with just a bit of hazy light getting through near the stem of the tulip glass, thumb of tan head held nicely with fairly consistent lacingS - its a smoke bomb, maybe a touch of leather, can't say much more than that except that was not what I was expecting at allT - so much big smoke to the point that its tough to drink, it is so overwhelming that there is nothing barelywine about it, have a feeling this is in the wrong styleM - once you get past the smoke it actually drinks relatively well for 11%O - not sure what to say about this, I want to like it but its like i'm sitting around a fire and the wind has shifted in my direction, and that's not a comfortable feeling, strange.... (709 characters)

Had this one during the Greenville Beer Exchange/American Grocery Beer vs. Wine Dinner! This beer was paired with a crispy pork belly, purple cape beans, spicy slaw in a ham hock broth. The wine it was facing off against was Kiralyudvar Tokaji Furmint Sec.

Served from bottle into a wine glass. Poured a deep ruby red brown with a one finger tan head that subsided to a minimal amount fairly quickly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, roasted malt, smoke, smoked meat, and earth. The flavor was of sweet malt, roasted malt, smoked meat, smoke, earth, and earthy hop. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a fairly good brew. The smokiness in this one was definitely the star of the show. A lot of the subtle flavors of a good Barleywine were partial covered up due to this fact unfortunately. Granted the flavors that came out were quite nice and seemed to be fairly well balanced for me. A nice brew that I'm glad I finally got to try.

I voted for the wine pairing on this if I am honest. The general concensus was that the wine was better with this dish. (1,149 characters)